Saturday, January 19, 2008

This is one of our family favorites. It is easy, healthy and tastes great. Lots of good stuff all at the same time. I usually stock up on Aidell's brand smoked chicken sausage when it's on sale and have quite a few different varieties in the freezer at a time.The kids like the chicken and apple kind, I like the artichoke and garlic, and Adam likes the spicy kind (I can't remember what it's called, and I'm all cozy here while I'm typing and really don't want to go look). Sorry.Anyway, they are clearly labeled gluten free, which is always an added bonus.

The Ingredients:

6 smoked chicken sausage links

4 cups random vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, bell pepper all work well)2 cups or so of cubed potatoes2 cups chicken broth1/3 to 1/2 cup white wine if you have it on hand --- if not, feel free to omit completely1 large handful of baby spinach (to add at the very end)

The Directions:

--cut all veggies into 2-inch chunks

--layer into crockpot, most to least dense

--add sliced sausage

--add broth and wine

--cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.

--right before serving, add a handful of fresh spinach and cover for 10 minutes to wilt leaves

(I forgot to do this in the above photo.)

The Verdict:

Delicious. And terribly easy--no spices are needed due to the flavorful sausage.We make this pretty often because we all like it. The leftovers are great for lunches and I often eat it cold right out of the Tupperware the next day.

Found your site today - YAY! Tried the Sausage and Veggie Medley - yum-o! Even hubby ate it and he hates crockpot food. I used 5 Jennie-O Italian sausages, tons of fresh carrots, onions, red bell pepper, and potatoes. I increased the broth, omitted the wine, added two bay leaves, and some McCormick's Seasoned Pepper - I cooked it 6 hrs on high - because I was worried about the chunks of veggies cooking through.It was perfect! Thank you! Keep up the good work! I'll be checking out your blog regularly.

it's not a stupid question. No, you don't need to pre-brown the sausage. If you are using uncooked sausage (like traditional pork sausage with thin casing) your sausage will fall apart a bit, but will still taste great and cook nicely. My sausage was a cured turkey flavored sausage that slices nicely.

Hi Eunmi, not a dumb question! If you have smoked sausage, the casing is edible and slices nicely. If you've got a bulk sausage where you're supposed to take the casing off before eating, go ahead and do so.Either varieties of sausage will cook up just fine in the pot.

I really like the Aidell's brand of smoked sausage and always leave the casing on, but my mom always cuts it off because she thinks it's a bit tough.